For one reason or another, Manchester United’s David de Gea has slumped in form this season. Ever since the World Cup last summer, the Spain international has suffered a dip in his career and has not shown the reliability that he is known for on a consistent basis.

Every player goes through a challenging period in their career, but it is uncommon for someone of De Gea’s stature to have a season that has been considerably below what fans are used to seeing.

After all, it is fair to say that the goalkeeper has been the Red Devils’ best player over the past six years.

De Gea 2018-19 Stats

But instead of showing his wonderful shot-stopping abilities and maintaining his excellent standards, De Gea has regressed somewhat. Remarkably, the Spaniard has made three errors this season that has directly led to conceding goals – the same amount of mistakes as the past three campaigns combined, sufficiently providing evidence that something is off-key.

Perhaps it has something to do with his contract expiring in 2020. There has been plenty of talk about De Gea demanding mega wages that equal Alexis Sanchez’s pay-packet, which might have distracted the goalkeeper in his performances. Based on what he has shown this year, it is no surprise that Man United are reluctant to sanction that deal with haste.

The Spaniard – who is 4/1 to sign with any French club and 8/1 with any Italian club on BetVictor – should not be ostracised from a group that is largely made up of underperforming players, or those that are simply not good enough.

When evaluating Man United’s squad, it is clear to see that De Gea still would fall into the top three players at the club, regardless of how he has performed over the season. That is something that should not be quickly put to one side.

In the event that Manchester United decide to cash in on De Gea, there will be a slight headache with who to replace him with in the transfer window.

Sergio Romero will fancy his chances of being the club’s number one, but the Red Devils’ board cannot swing the decision to sell one of their best players and not bring in anyone to replace him.

De Gea Replacement: Andre Onana The Answer?

The player who has impressed the most over the last 10 months has been AFC Ajax’s Andre Onana. The Cameroon international has been instrumental in the Dutch side’s success this season and will be closely monitored against Tottenham in the Champions League semi-final.

Onana, who is being closely tracked by Barcelona and is 10/3 to join the Catalan giants, has been known for his jaw-dropping saves and ability to play out from the back.

Similarly to De Gea, it is evident to see the goalkeeper’s preference in using his feet to save shots. A risky move for some, but if the technical ability is there, it saves time and leaves the goalkeeper in a better position to follow up on a rebound shot.

An issue with Onana is that he has only just signed a contract extension with Ajax that ties him down until 2022. While a club with the cash reserve of Manchester United can still lure the Cameroonian to the North West of England, it will be a complicated matter that would need a large amount of backing and patience.

In theory, Manchester United should not let De Gea leave this summer but also have to be sensible in what they offer. Their wage structure is already at an all-time high and is out of control, with the club needing to take back some control.

With the Red Devils also potentially out of the Champions League next season and placed in the Europa League instead, attracting the elite players they envisage signing will be a difficult task – even if they have the history.

Players, such as Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, will surely be aware of the problems going on at Old Trafford and will not be in a rush to force their way out of a very stable and successful club any time soon to risk their careers for United.

These are testing times for the club and they need to keep hold of their best players at the club – selling De Gea would be a bad move.